Cinematic Aspirations

In last month's issue, I said I believed that HDV (and other compressed HD technologies) will make 2005 the year of digital filmmaking. I would like to expand on that idea in this column.

Assimilate''s Scratch is one of several new finishing systems with digital intermediate capabilities. Scratch will be shown at NAB 2005.

Digital filmmakers, intent on cinematic distribution of their features or documentaries, commonly seek distribution by entering film festivals, where their work can be seen by potential distributors. The purpose of this column will be to examine this process and to let you know about the new, less expensive postproduction processes for cinematic presentations that can be found on the floor of NAB. These processes are also worth considering for videographers whose work will be shown in venues such as museums or other public spaces — anywhere high-resolution images are called for.

These less expensive solutions include: offline editing, finishing with a compressed HD solution, finishing with traditional HD or higher-resolution equipment, and using some of the new solutions specifically designed for digital intermediate work (some of which are low-cost).

Digital intermediate, which literally refers to the process of digitally creating an intermediate master before going to a print master, has come to include a spectrum of digital post processes in which filmed or digital footage is manipulated, corrected, and enhanced after it has been offlined and before it is output to a film or tape print.

This year there appears to be alignment of enabling technologies, including more powerful general purpose computer platforms, new compressed high-definition technology (and even some surprisingly affordable uncompressed options), new metadata interchange standards, and a collection of new applications and plug-ins that make creating programming for cinematic distribution possible for far more content creators than ever before.

Many believe that the new HDV camcorders and the new compressed HD technologies from Avid, Canopus, CineForm, Panasonic, Pinnacle Systems, Sony, and others will allow new low-cost access to cinematic program creation. Panasonic's new low-cost DVCPRO HD P2 storage camcorders, Focus Enhancements' hard disk recorders associated with some of the above codecs, and Ikegami's DNxHD codec digital camcorders all will contribute to increased access to both high-definition and cinematic program production.

I believe it will become common for filmmakers to acquire images using one of the compressed HD video camcorders and then edit on one of the popular editing applications (Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Xpress Pro, Liquid Edition, Velocity HD, Vegas, or even Lightworks Touch or Avid Adrenaline). Filmmakers will then output the program onto a DVD to submit it for consideration to festival judges. If the work is selected for presentation, the filmmaker may then need to consider the large screen presentation/distribution format, along with various enhancement processes. With the right metadata, there is a wide range of choices.

First, let's look at exactly what postproduction processes you may need to include for this enhancement step. I am going to assume that the basic piece is complete enough to present to a selection committee, which will decide whether it is worth polishing and presenting. And I will assume that both the original materials and metadata exist to continue the desired postproduction processes.

At NAB, Discreet will be showing a new, lower-cost Smoke HD on a Linux platform. It will also show a DI version of Smoke on IRIX.

These processes may include:

• Ingesting the digital media and metadata to a workstation's internal digital media storage, or onto storage networked and accessible to your workstation or workstations. This step will probably include the ability to manage these media assets.
• Conforming the project on a more advanced system in order to enhance, polish, and output a better finished product. You may have created your piece on a system that you believe can now do all finishing work, but re-conforming at the highest image quality may be required.
• “Up-rezzing” the program's images (to 2K or 4K images) at the start may be desirable, depending upon the out-put format. You will also want to make sure you are seeing the program monitor's proper look-up table (LUT) setup for the planned distribution technology. There is also the issue of bit depth when considering resolution and image quality. Higher-end technology is often capable of working in higher bit depths than lower-end postproduction platforms.
• Polishing, which may include the ability to do creative re-editing, polishing, audio mixing/mix-to-pix, and most likely some graphics, compositing, and FX.
• Color correcting/grading each clip in the finished program. Primary and secondary color adjustment are often major postproduction steps. Because these steps can be so complex, it is frequently recommended that a specialist handle them. In fact, this process often is thought of as the primary digital intermediate process. Not only does it involve enhancing specific clips, but also includes setting the overall tonality of the program.
• Retouching, which involves removing any technical problems (e.g., dropouts, wires, or anything else you do not want as part of the images). You may want to improve the tracking of an object, improve a matte, rerotoscope an object, etc. You may want to consider interlace, de-interlace, grain, filters, effects, or other tools for a desired, consistent look.
• Improving keying or compositing. What might be acceptable on a small format DVD needs to be fixed when the program is displayed on a large screen. High dynamic range imaging (HDRI), bluescreens, image stabilizing, and plug-in effects all may benefit from superior processing. These process steps may not have been available or may have been prohibitively expensive when you originally edited your program.
• Review and approval. Have a way of playing back the modifications and changes for review and approval in the final distribution method.
• Rendering and output. Frequently, a main advantage of going to a high-end facility is savings in the time and cost for final output of the program to a film recorder or digital storage device. With a distribution agreement, you may need multiple formats output to different technologies. Again, higher-end platforms excel in this capability.

There have always been more than a thousand ways to get from point A to point B. Let's focus on a few of the more common solutions for digital filmmaking. I would like to focus on four:

• Staying with the original postproduction platform.
• Outputting the metadata from the original workstation and renting time at a high-end facility specializing in cinematic programming.
• Using traditional technologies.
• Using new DI technologies.

Staying on the postproduction platform you are familiar with is now possible. The applications you may have used to edit your piece may be sufficient and cost-effective enough to complete the enhancements required for the work to be presented or distributed as desired. Today there are supplemental hardware, plug-ins, and applications that may allow you to make the needed adjustments and output in the required formats. Doing this work yourself or hiring freelance talent to assist you may be the most cost-effective choice, depending upon the costs of the supplementary hardware, software, and plug-ins.

At Sundance, Adobe, Apple, Avid, Sony, and others were advocating using their software on a general purpose computer for postproduction. Furthermore, the Sundance festival, as well as many other film festivals, is adapting to this concept by offering access to new projection and media storage technologies.

Another method of finishing your program is to take the digital media and metadata to a facility that specializes in such finishing processes. You will have access to experienced and talented specialists. The tools or plug-ins you may need would probably be available as part of the hourly fee. You may have access to great performance benefits, including faster technology, render farms, and more powerful applications.

Today, plug-ins from companies like Automatic Duck can translate metadata to a traditional finishing solution such as Quantel eQ or iQ; Discreet Fire, Flame, or Smoke; or Avid Nitris. Automatic Duck has expanded its offerings to include plug-ins for Digidesign audio workstations and other workstations.

These traditional film and video workstations are powerful, have excellent finishing toolsets, and can “up-rez” and output at 2K or 4K resolutions to a film recorder or a D-Cinema storage solution. Each offers LUT technology to show how the postproduction adjustments will look on the cinema screen based upon the emulsion or technology you output to. Each offers an extensive set of enhancements, paint/touch-up, and effects compositing capabilities.

DVS Clipster is a realtime editing, conforming, and finishing system for SD, HD, and 2K. The system offers realtime color correction, vertical editing, and AAF compatibility.

At NAB, Quantel will be introducing EIGER, an acronym for effects, imaging, grading, and editing release, for the iQ and eQ systems. This solution includes Quantel's new UniKey system, a multi-format, multi-colorspace precision keying toolset. New software algorithms are powered by Quantel hardware and the company's Resolution Co-existence and Dynamic Rounding technologies. As to eQ, there are rumors that a new lower-priced eQ capable of HD and DI (with rendering) will be introduced to replace the QEdit Pro, which is evolving toward a broadcast editing role.

Discreet will be offering a new low-cost Smoke HD on the Linux platform, and a DI version of Smoke on IRIX, as well as the other workstations that make up the company's DI solutions. For digital filmmakers, it is worth noting that Discreet previously announced that it will soon be delivering Apple Final Cut Pro XML compatibility. Discreet may be coming out with some exciting new products for film studios as well, so it will be worthwhile to stop by its booth.

Finally, some of the new postproduction solutions being displayed at NAB will work well for SD and HD television programming, as well as for “up-rezzed” D-Cinema projects. When I asked one high-end DI manufacturer about low-cost DI options, he retorted, “DI and low cost are diametrically opposed directions. You need serious muscle for DI solutions and that is not low priced … ever.”

Well, that is an interesting view, but forgive me if I say it sounds too much like the expensive standard-definition NLE manufacturers' quotes prior to the arrival of the DV format solutions. I believe that for editors with cinematic aspirations, there will be products at NAB that will allow all the functionality expected in a DI solution, but in a software application. These will work on higher-powered general purpose computer workstations and use today's cost-effective, wide-bandwidth storage solutions at a price much less than that of current high-end DI solutions.

If you are looking to buy a general purpose finishing system, consider these DI-capable products as a way to get the editing functionality you need with the bonus of DI capabilities.

One example might be Assimilate's Scratch turnkey system, which can be purchased for less than $50,000, including storage on a Boxx Technologies workstation. Assimilate is equally at home with video and film. The price of a turnkey system is competitive with that of today's mid-range, general purpose NLE workstations, but the Assimilate solution comes with the finishing capabilities you would expect from a DI system.

Scratch is a realtime 2K, 4K, and beyond workflow solution that combines an open architecture, modular feature sets, and unique conform and assembly tools to deliver an integrated, end-to-end DI pipeline. All this runs on a standard high-performance, Windows-based workstation with 32-bit float processing precision.

Scratch's features include realtime, multi-resolution conform and assemble; review and playback; panel-based color grading; more than 150 optional third-party plug-ins; and final mastering for film. At NAB, you can find Scratch in Assimilate's Hilton hospitality suite.

A second example is Nucoda, a company recently acquired by Swedish film and DI manufacturer Digital Vision. It appears that Nucoda will remain a separate autonomous division. The company has been an advocate of AAF metadata interchange for film and video postproduction since its founding.

An entry-level turnkey data conform system might be available for as little as $20,000, depending upon its configuration and the exchange rate. A Nucoda Film Master system, the “world's first complete resolution-independent end-to-end film finishing solution,” could top out at 10 times that.

The Nucoda products are designed as modular systems, and I believe you could design a Nucoda postproduction system in the $50,000 price range that may be exactly what you are looking for in a film and video finishing system.

I should also point out that as a maker of early DI systems, Nucoda has a lot of credits under its belt. For example, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was conformed with opticals and color timing, and the whole movie rendered out at 16 bits per channel.

A third example of the new DI solutions is Clipster, DVS' realtime editing, conforming, and finishing system. This solution features realtime color correction, vertical editing, improved conforming, and AAF compatibility. This application's operations and user interface may be most familiar to those used to traditional video editing facilities. Like the other two examples, this application is excellent for finishing SD, HD, and 2K, including working in a workgroup network environment.

Good luck checking out these new products at NAB, and enjoy the show.

Bob Turner has been a film editor since 1966, and a video editor since 1976.

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